


Young Justice | We Are Not Special

by InfiniteWriter



Category: Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Apocalypse, Alternate Universe - Future, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-08
Updated: 2015-11-08
Packaged: 2018-04-30 16:27:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,338
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5170601
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InfiniteWriter/pseuds/InfiniteWriter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Heroes are just people in costumes. Only when they truly realize what that costume can symbolize, are they special. Those symbols represent the faults, demons, and pains faced in everyday-life. Heroes embrace them. They stop the evil, who remind us of these issues. Eventually, people realize they have a life and need to live it. Heroes give people that chance. Apocalypse Future.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Young Justice | We Are Not Special

* * *

  **Prologue: A Brand New Age**

* * *

**The White House**

**Washington, D.C.**

**July 4, 2012**

**03:16 P.M.**

* * *

 "Finally. The battle for retribution is over," announced Lex Luthor, the new Secretary-General of the United Nations. He won by a land-slide. Elections went up soon after the latest Secretary-General was killed.

The crowd standing in front of him cheered and screamed. The people wanted justice. The betrayal of their heroes hit home to the people of Earth. They put their faith in the Justice League to protect them. They never thought they would need protection from them; they never thought they would turn.

"These criminals, murderers, will now pay for the lives they took." Lex paused then look towards the remaining members of the League before finishing his statement. "With their own."

The crowd came to life. They were jumping up and down. They punched their fists into the air. "Justice! Justice! Justice," they chanted. "Justice for the people!"

With his hand, he silenced them. "I am not one to condone public executions at this grand of scale, but we can all agree that these  _traitors_  deserve this treatment and _much_ more for their crimes."

The crowd roared with approval. The audience was standing in front of the one of the world's best known buildings: the White House. This event would have taken place in New York, the headquarters of the United Nations because this was a worldwide affair, but that city was destroyed. The attackers were none other than the Justice League. The city was in ruins. Not even the Statue of Liberty survived. Washington, D.C.'s destruction was prevented though. All thanks to the one and only Lex Luthor. He had invented a toxin that attacked the nerves, striping all powers and abilities, and would then leave the victim unconscious. For Superman, the toxin was re-engineered into a gas with traces of kryptonite. The Man of Steel didn't stand a chance.

The League ended up killing most of the world's leaders because when they attacked, the UN had assemble to discuss the rejuvenated war in North and South Rhelasia. Afterwards, the Earth went on lock down. Any available information about the League was released to the public. An organization unknown to the people, the Light, came forth and helped. They had the resources and tech to take down every known hero on the planet. Nobody questioned the miracle. The Light also had the most sacred piece of information a hero held dear: their identity. Armed with their secret identities, the world called for all heroes, partners, sidekicks, and vigilantes to turn themselves in to their local governments. All allies and supporters of the League were also taken. No one was spared.

The people of Earth came to call this event The Purge.

Months later, on the United States's independence day, four out of the seven founding members were facing the first of many public executions. Batman was nowhere to be found. There had been reports that the Batman suffered life-threatening injuries. It is highly unlikely he is still alive. Atlantis was in ruins and Aquaman has not been located yet. Any information about the Flash was unknown. But Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, and Martian Manhunter were still alive.

"Now, the main event." Two soldiers each carrying a box walked up to Luthor. The crowd look on as Lex pick up a gun. "Since these heroes no longer have the ability to use their powers, I can use an ordinary gun." He stopped to look at Superman. "You still have your unbreakable skin so I will have to use a very  _special_  gun for you."

The prisoners were ordered to stand up from their kneeling positions. Their inhibitor collars were shown for all to see. They can not escape. They were not blind-folded. Their expressions were blank. Only their eyes showed their emotions of sorrow and regret. Luthor went up behind each former hero and delivered one shot to the back of the head.

_Bang!_

_Bang!_

_Bang!_

Three bodies dropped to the ground. Lifeless.

The previously excited crowd was silent. They had waited a long time for this moment. Despite their hatred and anger, nobody knew how to react. Three more of the world's most powerful heroes were now dead. By their human,  _mortal_  hands. That moment didn't last for long. A group of soldiers walked up to remove the bodies. Lex already had the other gun loaded and ready to fire behind Superman's head.

"For a special treat," Luthor started off. "I will allow the former blue boy scout to speak his last words to the public." He walked in front of Superman. "Come on, Superman. What do you have to say?"

Superman looked straight into the camera. "To Young Justice and to Superboy-"

* * *

**Mt. Justice**

**Happy Harbor, Rhode Island**

**July 4, 2012**

**03:20 P.M.**

* * *

 All was quiet in the mountain as the Team watched helplessly as their mentors were gunned down in the Mission Room. Batman, wearing a hospital grown, sat in a wheelchair. He was still recovering from his major injury to his spine. The doctors that were still loyal to the League said there was a good chance he would never walk again. Dick stood behind him. His signature sunglasses placed over his eyes. His chest was wrapped up in bandages. His battle with the Joker hadn't been pleasant. Superboy and Miss Martian stood off to the side. Conner had his arms wrapped around M'gann to comfort her. Wally was standing next to Robin. His left leg and right arm were in a cast. Artemis sat silently in the background. Like Batman, she was in a wheelchair also. She had serious wounds to her body and to her face. She needed the chair because she wasn't strong enough to stand on her own. Aqualad, suffering his own wounds, stood tall and proud in the front.

They listened silently as Luthor went on about what happened and why the heroes of Earth all deserved what was coming to them. He wanted to prolong this public execution as long as he could. It wasn't everyday that you get to best and kill your enemies at the same time. Each of them masked their anger for the situation. Superboy and Artemis did not hide theirs for long. Superboy was griping a small key with Superman's symbol of the front of it. Superman give him. It was the key to the Fortress of Solitude. Clark said it was time he learned of his heritage. Their archer had placed a death grip on Green Arrow's bow. She hadn't let that bow out of her sight ever since she was rescued.

They each held their breath as each member fell. They had the same problem the crowd of people had: they didn't know how to respond.

Superboy tensed when Lex walked in front of Superman.

"For a special treat," Luthor started off. "I will allow the former blue boy scout to speak his last words to the public. Come on Superman. What do you have to say?"

The residents of the mountain leaned forward. Superman was the most powerful being on the planet. His family crest had come to symbolize hope, peace, and justice. He literally was the picture of a perfect being. It was an amazing separation of human and god. Superman is the most human of us all. Then he does an unfathomable feet. It is difficult not to think of him as a god. Killing Superman was unimaginable. Unthinkable. Impossible.

Superman looked straight into the camera. "To Young Justice and to Superboy. If you are still out there, do not give up hope. We may be gone, but you guys are still here. You have to become the Justice League. Conner, you have to become Superman, now. It is you responsibility to the people and to your name. They may not realize it now, but there will be a day when they will need you. That day might not be tomorrow, but it will come. Do not be mad at them. They do not know what they are getting into." Superman stopped and bowed his head.

"Is that it," Luthor questioned.

Clark Kent raised his head one last time. "Conner you need to know that I am sorry. For anything. You are my  _son_. I am  _very_  proud of you. I'll always be there, Conner. Always. It's not the powers. It's not the cape. It's about standing up for what's right. For truth. As long as people like you are out there, I'll be there. Always. Goodbye, Kon-El."

The crowd stood silent. Once again, they did not know how to react.

Conner was having an emotional battle within himself. He also dreamed about being like Superman. He wanted to be Superman. Flying next to him, battling his foes, receiving admiration and approval from him had been his goal. Even though he was his clone, deep inside, he wanted to be his son. Seeing him for the first time and witnessing his face of disgust, broke him. This is the man he wanted to be, but that man did not want to acknowledge him. Now here he is, apologizing and claiming his clone as his offspring and successor in his last words.  _I have to become Superman,_  Conner thought.

"That was sweet," Luthor admitted. "Very noble. But your little speech was pointless. Your sidekicks and your  _son_  are as good as dead Clark." With that, Luthor pointed the gun to his head. "Goodbye, Superman." Young Justice could count sixteen seconds before the Man of Steel laid dead on the ground with a kyptonite bullet in his skull.

Luthor smiled. "It is over. Everyone has been brought into the Light."

* * *

  **Chapter One: In A Place That Time Can't Change**

* * *

**Mt. Justice**

**Happy Harbor, Rhode Island**

**March 3, 2016**

**09:01 A.M.**

* * *

"Good morning, Young Justice," the computer voice sounded off. Mount Justice was silent. Inside the cave walls, it appeared to be uninhabited. But it wasn't. Like the computer said, the team known as Young Justice lived here. What's left of them that is. The six of them were nothing but broken hearts and ghosts. Each one of them were stuck in a place that time couldn't touch or change.

These thoughts were going through Bruce Wayne's head. Yes, just the former billionaire playboy of Gotham City: Bruce Wayne. The Dark Knight, Batman, was no more. He was erased from history, wiped out; just like the rest of the supposed evil in the world. Bruce, the one wheeling down these cold, lifeless halls of the mountain, was a shell of the former hero that existed five years ago.

Now, he is a man cursed to live forever bound to a wheel chair; never to walk again. His once bright blue eyes were now dull. His sharpen features now rounded and soft. His body was now composed of scars and unhealable wounds.

He knocked on six doors to rooms he wasn't allowed to enter. They were the sanctuaries to the broken. He rolled past each labeled door: Kaldur, Conner, Megan, Wally, Dick, and Arty. He didn't knock on the next two doors. There was no reason to. The two teens the rooms belonged to were no longer here.

He then wheeled himself into the kitchen to prepare today's breakfast. When he opened the door to the storage room, he frowned. They were running out of supplies. They had, at least, two weeks worth of food left. They would soon have to open the doors of the cave to restock. The kids wouldn't like that. They basically lived in the four walls of darkness they called their rooms.

It was mandatory to come out to train and eat. Besides that, the young adults only left their rooms for special reasons. Conner would watch static on the TV in the living room. Megan would go down to memorial to tend to it. Wallace would go to his self-proclaimed, Souvenir Room, to relive the glory days. Dick, missing the Bat Cave, would flip and swing in the rafters in the Mission Room. Kaldur would go to the 'spool. He would swim back-n-forth multiple times. Bruce said it was alright to swim out to sea, but Kaldur just refused. Arty, no longer going by Artemis, would go to the target range to practice. She would use her mentor's, Green Arrow's, bow and quiver.

Bruce sighed. "Nobody should have to go through what they went through," he whispered. "They would have to live with those memories for the rest of their lives." He tried to help them through the tragedy of The Purge, but he was no Black Canary. Besides, he had to see to his own demons. He wasn't helpful at all.

As soon as he finished preparing a simple breakfast of eggs, toast, and bacon, he buzzed their rooms. "Breakfast is ready."

One by one, they entered the kitchen and sat down at the table. The temperature in the room dropped; you could cut the depression and tension with a knife. There was no conversation at all. There was nothing to talk about. With that, Bruce toke the chance to study his charges.

First up was Dick. Richard, from a very young age, experienced tragedy. That tragedy was his family's death. He had to watch them fall to their deaths. He couldn't do anything. He relived that moment when he saw Bruce go down. He saw the Batman's curse to never walk again be created. Just like his family, he couldn't do anything. During the past five years, his has grown into a man. He is now six feet even with a lean body of an acrobat.

Next in line was the Boy of Steel. Conner was the clone of Superman, the world's greatest hero. He faced many challenges and tragedies in his six, short years of life. Like Dick, he also saw his mentor's death. Superman, along with what was left of the Justice League, was executed in Washington D.C. by Lex Luthor, the United Nations Secretary-General. Conner still had the body of a sixteen-year-old teen. But his expressions and the lifelessness of his eyes said he was for older. He has been denied the right to age properly by his unstable DNA. He will also never have full Kruptonian powers either. He could never be the Superman he desperately wanted to be.

Bruce glanced at the silent Wally West. Out of all the others, Wally changed the most. He was no longer carefree and full of life and innocence. He became serious and tough. Sometimes his old self would shine through his new demeanor. The group deemed this change in Wally as 'Wally's Episodes'. In the past five years, Bruce has come to realize the 'Wally's Episodes' was just Wally being in denial. Wally wants to deny The Purge never happening, even going as far to say it was all a training exercise and that they would all wake up soon. He also wants to deny that his Uncle, his mentor, never died because he was too slow.

Next was the Team's leader, Kaldur. He didn't seem to change, but the others knew better. They didn't know what exactly happened in Atlantis, but they know it was bad. They each thought that Atlantis was untouchable. But you had to expect the unexpected when the whole world was determined to kill you. When asked about it in one of their group counseling sessions, he would shut down and politely ask to leave the room. His outward appearance changed though. He grew his hair out and styled it into dreads. His hair went past his shoulders now. He even let himself grow a beard. It was a surprise to everyone because he was known to always look proper.

Bruce then studied Megan. The kind and sweet teen they grew to love was gone. Some days, she would come off as cold and unapproachable. She still helped in the kitchen, but that bubbly personality never appeared. She had a new appearance now. Her long red hair was chop close to her head, only a few inches long. Her regular clothes were now plain t-shirts and blue jeans.

Lastly, Bruce toke a look at the most damaged person in the Cave. Now going by Arty, as she strongly suggested, she was the most unapproachable and closed person. During The Purge, she was taken by the Light. Nobody knew what she endured, but it most have been hell if it granted her three long scars down the left side of her face. She was the most scarred with wounds all over her body. When asked what happened, she would only say, "I survived." Though the group saw many of their friends and family die, Arty saw the most death. Her mother, Green Arrow, Black Canary, Red Arrow, and her sister, Cheshire, all died right in front of her in a span of two months.

Everyone ate slowly. They weren't in any rush. Their lives were spent in the mountain. Nothing new or surprising to come. Wally didn't even stuff down his food. That had to be the most saddest thing of all: Wally West, the former Kid Flash, not using his super speed. He didn't even use the track to run anymore. He says that didn't want to be reminded of his uncle and has failure to save his life.

Bruce looked at the group all at once. So many tragedies, pasts, and demons. They all had the same future: to wait for the world to need them again like Clark had said. But that hope slowly died with each passing day. Dick said that they were trapped in time without a key. Bruce couldn't agree more.

But in time, things can change.

"I have something to tell you," Bruce said, bringing them all to attention. It was not everyday they heard new developments from the outside. They only go out every other month or so get new supplies. "There is a new resistant movement."

"So," Conner said with a glare directed at Bruce. "It's always the same. Someone gets pissed at the way the Light is treating them and in the next month, they disappear."

There was silence. Con had spoken what was all on their minds. New movements were always the same. The first couple had gotten them excited. They were finally needed again. Each time they faced disappointment. Even though some people were ready to take a stand against the Light, they were not ready to trust heroes again.

"I sense this movement is different," Kaldur suggested. "You wouldn't have shared this information otherwise or without a good reason."

Bruce nodded. "You are correct Kaldur. This movement  _is_  different."

"How," questioned Wally. "Like Supey said, same old, same old."

The others started to agree.

Bruce sent a glare to silence the all. In that one moment, he looked like the Dark Knight. "This group calls themselves the New Justice League."

Dick glared back at him. "This is a really bad joke, Bruce."

Bruce turned to look specifically at Dick. "Have you ever known me to joke?"

"So if they are asking for us," questioned Conner, "What are we waiting for? A theme song."  _I have to be Superman,_ he thought.  _That is what Clark wanted._

"We need a plan," said Kaldur. He was easily stepping back into his leadership role.

"And that plan is to wait," Bruce said. "We need more information. Also, we can't just step back into our old identities. We are still convected criminals and the enemy in the eyes of the people. We will all need new identities."

"So we wait," said M'gann.

"Exactly."

"Is that all," asked Kaldur.

"No. We need new supplies. We are running out." He stopped to pull out a credit card. Even with all his money under the name Bruce Wayne was taken, he still had secret accounts. "You will all go. You guys need the fresh air."

**Author's Note:**

> This is a story that I have been working on for a good while. I no-way near finishing it, but I decide to post what I have so far. Right now it is currently canceled, but it has a chance to be revisited. Hopefully, I will be inspired to finish writing it. I have a set the plot line to this story, but I am open for suggestions! Read, Review, and/or PM!


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